Ask Tom Veal with Irvine Pacific ? the Irvine Co.'s homebuilding division ? what the company's secret ingredient has been, and there are a few he points to:
- Irvine, itself.
Use of large panes of glass allows natural light to stream into the Great Rooms of homes at The Irvine Company's Village of Laguna Altura.
H. LORREN AU JR., THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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- The great room the company has included in its homes since 2010 that bridges the kitchen with the living room seamlessly.
- And, lately, being one of the few homebuilders selling new homes in the area as the economy picks up.
"It's great to be back at work," Veal said recently.
The company took what was widely viewed as a risk in early 2010 when it sought home developers to build more than 600 new homes spread across Irvine. But their bet paid off and from that, the company revived its own homebuilding arm ? Irvine Pacific ? and in two years it was selling out of new homes to sell.
Last year, the company sold 1,436 new homes, nearly twice what it sold in 2011 when it ranked fourth in the nation for master planned community home sales according to an annual survey from John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Ten neighborhoods and two entire villages sold out. And what's happened to every neighborhood they started selling in January 2010? Sold out, too.
This month, the company opens its Cambria neighborhood in the Village of Stonegate and has more homes planned for its other villages.
The company counts signed contracts for homes not yet built or moved into among their sales numbers as well as closed deals.
Between January and October last year, 457 new homes in Irvine closed escrow up 2.5 percent compared to the same time a year prior, according to DataQuick's Andrew LePage.
"These are the done deals," he said. Gradual economic improvements and builders reacting to a winnowing crop of resale homes are part of the reasons why new home sales are experiencing an uptick, he said.
The number of closed home sales at the Irvine Co.'s Village of Laguna Altura south of I-405 accounted for 34 percent of that total, alone.
That development opened in May 2011 offering homes from the $600,000s to the low $1 million range and online advertisements feature a couple lounging on a sandy beach.
A 7.5-mile drive down the road, "you could be on the beach," Veal added.
The homes might not be sea-side, but they feature access to a junior Olympic-sized pool, proximity to Irvine's high ranked school districts, slightly-larger-than-usual children's rooms and nearly wall-sized windows. The amenities often come with monthly home owner association fees.
Eric and Jessica Nicastro, 31 and 27, moved into Laguna Altura's San Remo neighborhood in May 2012 after searching Orange County for a home in their price range from $800,000 to $900,000 ? including Costa Mesa, Laguna Niguel and other Irvine Co. neighborhoods in Irvine.
They didn't expect to afford something new, let alone a home in a gated community and the ability to upgrade their home with new appliances, surround sound, crown molding and wood floor, they said.
"For that same money, a house anywhere of those other locations was going to be a major fixer-upper," Nicastro said.
Plus, Laguna Altura was near the I-405, the I-5 and the 73 toll road, an exit away from the Irvine Spectrum and a 15-minute drive to where they both work ? the Orange County Bureau of Jewish Education for Eric and Jewish Federation of Family Services for Jessica and a short jaunt to the beach.
It's "ocean close," said Karen Petri, a sales associate in Laguna Altura's office.
New Irvine Co. homes sold in 2012: 1,436
Closed escrow: 858 (of those, 686 were sold in 2012 and 172 were sold in 2011)
New homes sold in 2011: 774
Closed escrow: 911 (of those, 595 were sold in 2011 and 316 were sold in 2010)
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Total homes in the Village of Laguna Altura: 597
Neighborhoods within Laguna Altura and sales as of Nov. 26:
Siena (195 total homes) ? low $600,000s
Number of homes that have closed escrow: 37
San Remo (164 total homes) ? high $600,000s
Number of homes that have closed escrow: 32
Toscana (86 total homes) ? low $1 millions
Number of homes that have closed escrow: 41
Cortona (152 total homes) ? low $1 millions
Number of homes that have closed escrow: 44
Source: Irvine Co.
Contact the writer: 949-864-6371 or kpierceall@ocregister.com
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/homes-382605-irvine-sold.html
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